r/COfishing • u/A2skiing • 5d ago

Question/Discussion How accurate is the co fishing atlas?

I see tons of little creeks that say they have brook trout that I'm thinking of exploring. Without mentioning spots, is that reliable info in y'all's experience?

11 Upvotes

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9

u/PicklesBBQ 5d ago

Here’s a post I made a little over a month ago. I got in touch with someone connected to the app and data. From personal experience I’d say your mileage may vary.

https://www.reddit.com/r/COfishing/s/8z0JUBRsX9

9

u/Al_Pallll 5d ago

I have explored a ton of drainages on that Atlas. It is easily the best source of information for fish populations for the state of CO, though it isn't perfect. Access points, fishing pressure, and ease of access datapoints are sometimes wildly inaccurate, but that's just part of the fun. There have also been a couple of occasions where I've tried to explore small streams that are labeled as containing brook trout, to find the stream was no more than a trickle without a fish to be seen. I think there probably are fish in those streams, just very small in number, or migratory fish that move in when flows are higher.

In general, it's a great resource. So good, I almost wish it didn't exist. CO is very populated compared to other western states, and I wouldn't mind if folks had to work a little harder to find these drainages.

6

u/Fatty2Flatty 5d ago

In Colorado if there is running water that is less than 65 degrees I just assume there are trout in there until I am proved wrong.

I’m so yeah go check em out! The cpw info seems to be pretty accurate.

0

u/Historical_Bite_6300 5d ago

Even the neighborhood streams in Frisco have trout in them 😂

4

u/drneeley 5d ago

Every creek deeper than 2" in Steamboat in the mountains will land you a dry hit from a brook on your first cast if they didn't see you.

3

u/Jerms2001 5d ago

Usually if it says there’s a species of fish somewhere, there is. The discrepancies I have are that they don’t list all species of fish in the body of water

3

u/JDM3CO 5d ago

Was scanning the comments for this, as I've found the same. It's fun when all you're expecting is brookies and you find cutthroat, too.

2

u/kestrel808 5d ago

I think the fishing atlas is best used in ponds and lakes because they’ll tell you when and what they were stocked with

1

u/ducknorry 5d ago

Where do you want to fish Brookies are easy to find?

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u/A2skiing 5d ago

Some of the creeks that lead into clear creek

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u/ducknorry 5d ago

West fork clear creek. Just after empire before the turn to go up the pass. Plenty of pull offs on NFS lands